#touch compass

Seven days, 24 Participants from both sides of the Tasman Sea, four Touch Compass tutors, one amazing dance studio – what an incredible way for Touch Compass to kick off 2015!

To have that much creative energy in our Touch Compass home is always a delight to experience.  The Touch Compass Summer School was born out of two purposes – to engage disabled and non-disabled dancers in a week long workshop and to audition new dancers to join the company.   Thanks to a huge effort from the team at TC – management and dancers alike – we created a highly successful Summer School, enthusiastically enjoyed by all of the participants.  Without a doubt, we could not have asked for a better response to our very first Summer School.

"Best workshop ever. Met amazing people, it changed my life. Never been in a room with so many talented people before." - Participant

The week was fairly focused on the company’s latest work “Watching Windows”, which premiered at Acquisitions ’14.  The work comprises of three duets, set in and around various sizes of wooden boxes.  As there was a dual purpose to this workshop, the participants had been assigned to groups to learn a duet from “Watching Windows”.  My group had a slightly different approach as they didn’t have to stick entirely to choreography. First they had to learn my 'hand solo' but from there it was up to them what they created.  The result was three unique duets from one solo.  

All of the participants had sessions together exploring tasks such as ‘tableaus' and ‘flocking'. Tableaus are where pictures are created against a wall with people adding themselves one at a time.  Flocking involves everyone following the movement of a leader or whoever is in their view, leading to an eventual combination of numerous leaders as well as followers.

To wrap up the week the TC team of tutors created a score for the participant to improvise with.  Various sets and props were arranged in the space and the score was mapped out on the whiteboard for reference.  It was a brilliant hour filled with solos and duets from the week.

Dancers from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are taking up a unique challenge to create portable dance works performed inside a box.

Touch Compass Dance Company’s DanceBox Challenge was launched in Auckland to celebrate International Dance Day on Tuesday 29 April.

In the first stage of the project, 14 dancers in Auckland took part in a three day workshop to develop pieces performed within the confines of a 2m cube box.

The works were filmed and will be uploaded online for others to join the conversation and the best works will be part of the Touch Compass Dance Company’s Acquisitions ‘14 season in August.

Touch Compass artistic director Catherine Chappell says DanceBox brings diverse dancers together to exchange and share stories in a creative and physical way.

The project uses dance, performance and film to shine light on “those profound moments when life reveals itself to the person living it – often changing everything from that point on”.

Ms Chappell said launching the project to tie in with International Dance Day worked alongside Touch Compass Dance Company’s philosophy of questioning who can dance and bringing dance out of the theatre and into people’s lives.

“We want people to join in the conversation and comment on the different works.”

The workshops include young dancers from Touch Compass Dance Company’s community class working with Touch Compass professional dancers  and themes for the dance works are around ‘something that changed my life’.

The DanceBox Challenge project is an extension of Touch Compass Dance Company’s successful Hotbox season in 2013, a season of short performances on the streets of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch which was experienced by more than 5000 people.

“So often dance takes place on stage in a theatre, but last year we took it to the street," Ms Chappell said. "This year, we’re taking that one step further and taking it online to engage with as many people as possible."

The first stage of the DanceBox Challenge will be uploaded online over the coming months. The Wellington and Christchurch workshops will take place later this year.

We've produced a comprehensive NCEA dance education resource based on international choreographer Marc Brew’s engaging and challenging work RUN.

RUN is ideal for NCEA study with its clear intention, development, resolution and unity. The work is also of interest and relevance at tertiary levels.

The resource includes DVD with full-length work, exam excerpt and interviews with dancers, composer and rehearsal director.